rifle

¹ American  

[rahy-fuhl] / ˈraɪ fəl /

noun

rifles plural

1. a shoulder firearm with spiral grooves cut in the inner surface of the gun barrel to give the bullet a rotatory motion and thus a more precise trajectory.

2. one of the grooves.

3. a cannon with such grooves.

4. Often Rifles any of certain military units or bodies equipped with rifles.

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verb (used with object)

rifled, rifling

1. to cut spiral grooves within (a gun barrel, pipe, etc.).

2. to propel (a ball) at high speed, as by throwing or hitting with a bat.

rifle ² American  

[rahy-fuhl] / ˈraɪ fəl /

verb (used with object)

rifled, rifling

1. to ransack and rob (a place, receptacle, etc.).

2. to search and rob (a person).

3. to plunder or strip bare.

4. to steal or take away.

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rifle ¹ British  

/ ˈraɪfəl /

noun

1. 1. a firearm having a long barrel with a spirally grooved interior, which imparts to the bullet spinning motion and thus greater accuracy over a longer range

   2. ( as modifier )

      rifle fire

2. (formerly) a large cannon with a rifled bore

3. one of the grooves in a rifled bore

4. (plural)

   1. a unit of soldiers equipped with rifles

   2. ( capital when part of a name )

      the Rifle Brigade

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verb

1. to cut or mould spiral grooves inside the barrel of (a gun)

2. to throw or hit (a ball) with great speed

rifle ² British  

/ ˈraɪfəl /

verb

1. to search (a house, safe, etc) and steal from it; ransack

2. to steal and carry off

   to rifle goods from a shop

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Synonym Usage

See rob.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• rifler
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• rifles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of rifle¹

An Americanism dating back to 1745–55; from Low German rīfeln “to groove,” derivative of rīve, riefe “groove, flute, furrow”; akin to Old English rifelede “wrinkled”

Origin of rifle²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English rifel, from Old French rifler “to scratch, strip, plunder”

Explanation

A rifle is a long, powerful gun that is fired from the shoulder. A soldier is most often armed with a rifle. Some hunters use rifles, which fire single bullets rather than the small pellets, or shot, that shotguns fire. A rifle can do more damage and is therefore often used in the military. The name comes from the shape of the barrel, which is grooved — or rifled, from the Old French word rifler, "to scratch or groove." Another meaning of rifle comes from the same root but means "to search through things in a hurried way."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rifle rifles rifled rifling

A rifle was later recovered "in the wooded area where we believe Mr Robinson entered the wooded area", Hull told the court.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

In October 2023, Manunya tattooed a Kalashnikov assault rifle onto the forearm of a colleague.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

Images of the weapons found in the house were shown to the court, including an air rifle, which was stored in a wooden box and included a self-contained gas cartridge.

From BBC ● May 18, 2026

The Florida woman who allegedly raked Rihanna’s West L.A. home with rifle fire earlier this year may be mentally unfit to stand trial, her attorney said in court Wednesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026

I lowered the rifle and ejected the shell and put the gun away.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

Khanna, 49, had been in a van with his team when they were surrounded by settlers wielding M4 rifles on Wednesday, he told Reuters news agency.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

At the disaster sites, hundreds of national guardsmen and police stood idly by clutching their rifles and manning checkpoints, leaving residents to wonder why they weren’t grabbing shovels to help find survivors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026

She touches up a manicure, rifles through her closet, blends a green juice.

From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026

Officials seized several pistols, rifles, shotguns, ammunition, tactical gear, as well as electronics, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

We shoot air rifles at paper stars and barely get two of the legs off.

From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Barely four minutes after Bellingham’s second goal, the lead was cut in half when England’s defense failed to deal with a free-kick and Mexico forward Julián Quiñones rifled into the roof of the net.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Ozcan rifled home from the edge of the box after Orkun Kokcu had set the ball up nicely for him.

From Barron's ● Nov. 18, 2025

Doncic rifled a pass at Austin Reaves’ feet, the two players getting crossed up on their timing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2025

Brahim Díaz broke through Cadiz’s defense in the 51st minute at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday when the forward rifled a shot from the edge of the box into the top corner.

From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2024

She rifled through the pages, her heart racing.

From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi

Julian Quinones times his run to perfection before rifling home a fierce shot to give Mexico the lead against Ecuador in their round of 32 World Cup match.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

But she has deep knowledge of women’s pay: As an economist, she spent years rifling through boxes of surveys and personnel records and tracking down data to document women’s changing role in the workplace.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026

Jovic stuck the knife in with four minutes remaining, rifling home a powerful low finish which gave the hosts a margin of victory which didn't truly reflect the balance of play.

From Barron's ● Jan. 25, 2026

All of Bezos’ wealth and all of Amazon’s lobbying muscle did not prevent federal agents from rifling through his employee’s home.

From Salon ● Jan. 17, 2026

I set the candle on the desk and yanked open drawers, rifling through the contents.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• rip